Frozen Heart and Warm Spark
by Windclimber93
Summary: Irene Madison 's life was filled with sorrow and emptiness after loss of her fiancé at the battle of Mission City. Later when she joined the NEST air combat team for the revenge, she bumped into a "man" who shockingly resembled her deceased fiancé.. Would she let go her vengeance and start a new life? Optimus OC. Set between 2007 and RotF. Rated T just in case!
1. The Funeral

**A/N: Hi Guys! I am into Transformers fic recently and got inspired by several good stories, so I decided to write my own one! this is my first attempt to write a fanfic so reviews are welcome!**

 **I do not own anything from Transformers. (except my OCs)**

Chapter 1 The Funeral

The rain was pouring from the grey sky.

The raindrop sounds mixed with the mournful tune of taps as quiet sobbing echoed the Airlington National Cemetery.

Irene Valerie Madison did not hear anything. She felt numb. Pain. Sorrow. Empty. Her empty eyes followed one of the flag-draped caskets toward the grave site.

Irene closed her eyes. How much she wished this was only a dream. A nightmare. Her comrades. Her commander. And her fiancé.. Josh. All gone. In a blink of moment.

Joshua Goodwin.. he was her instructor, comrade and light of her life. One month ago, he proposed to her and Irene was the happiest woman in the world.

Until a mission at the Mission City destroyed everything.

A roar snapped her back into the real world. She looked up and saw one jet abruptly pulled away from the V-shape flying jet. The Missing Man Formation.

And then she broke.

She rushed to the casket with Josh's body and collapsed on it. Hot tears streaming on her face mixed with the cool raindrops as she clutched on the casket. Josh was gone. She would never listen to his deep, soft baritone laugh, embrace in his warm, firm chest, or lose in his bright, welcoming chocolate brown eyes..again.

A firm yet gentle hand pulled her up. She heard a stern voice. "Lieutenant Madison, go back to your position." She lifted her head and saw her father, retired Colonel Madison with a stern face.

Irene stood up as Alyssa Case, one of her comrades, helped her up and walked back to where their squadron stood. They did not say anything on their way back. Irene stared blankly at the sky as she wished again it was a dream.

"Irene? The ceremony is over. Let's go."

She snapped back into reality as several of her comrades including Alyssa watched her with concern.

"I'm… fine. Let's move."

The surviving members of the squadron walked in silence while walking towards the parking lot. Irene glanced back into the cemetery. Her heart started to ache again when she gazed the newfound gravestones. Someone pulled her shoulder from the back.

"You will catch a cold if you stay in the rain." It was her father again. Irene turned around and met her father's grey eyes. She saw a hint of sorrow in his usual calm, stern gaze. She signed and stepped out of the gate with her father's arm on her shoulder.

Neither of them talked as they headed to Pentagon in her father's black Sonata. Irene pressed her forehead at the cold surface of the passenger window. She closed her eyes and tried to erase the memory of the tragic day…


	2. The Proposal

**Here comes chapter 2! Thanks for waiting!**

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Chapter 2. The Proposal

One month ago, Nellis Air Force Base, NV

It was a sunny, warm day in Nevada.

Lazily draping her left hand on the steering wheel, Irene leaned back into the comfortable leather seat and hummed along the music from the car radio. She glanced over her shoulder and grinned at the small pile of shopping bags that sat at the backseat of her car.

 _The squadron will love these gifts_ , she thought. After all, most of her fellow pilots had not gone out of the base for six months and surely missed many things outside the base. She was lucky enough to get out of the base to drop off her commander's family at McCarran International Airport since her commander had an emergency meeting and she was asked to do this job instead.

Speaking of her squadron…She slightly frowned, thinking of some stranger behaviors of her teammates in these days. She caught Alyssa and her wing-mate, Dylan whispering at the corner of the corridor several times and whenever she asked about this, they acted like nothing had happened, which made her become more suspicious. Some of the pilots were missing during the lunch time. Even Josh-her wing-mate and boyfriend, seemed to act a-little- too-mysteriously to her taste and hide something away from her. She had been asking around what was going on but almost everyone seemed to avoid her questions.

 _Maybe I have to catch a couple of guys for interrogations…_ She accelerated her car as she spotted the buildings of the base at the horizon.

"Guys I'm back! Look at what I brought for you-"Irene looked around the empty bunker. _Where are they at this time?_ Her roommates, Alyssa and Katiewere not at their barrack as usual. Changed into her usual military attire- a grey T-shirt, ABU pants and combat boots, she walked to the mess hall to look for her teammates.

The corridor was strangely quiet on the way to the mess hall. When Irene started to wonder if something happened at the base during her outing, she heard some muffled voice from the control room.

".. are you sure this is ready?" She heard Katie's voice.

"Trust me, guys. Everything is under controlled!" It was Edwin, the team's control technician.

"You can't miss a single thing. This is a huge, huge day for her!" Alyssa said in an excited voice.

" Check the time. When will she come back?"

"Maybe in an hour or two. After all, we asked her to get some personal stuff, so she wouldn't be back that fast."

"Great. We still have some time for double check-"

"Why are you all scrambling at here?" Irene pushed the door.

Those three people in the room almost jumped at her voice. Edwin hastily shut down the monitor as Alyssa greeted Irene in an exaggerated, almost unusual manner.

"Oh Irene! Girl, glad to see you back. We missed you so much-"

"I saw you in this morning, Allie." Irene said, startled by her friend's unusual action. Before she said anything about it, Katie interrupted. " Did you get my snacks and new maroon 5 CDs?"

"Yes, yes, ma'am. I already put them inside your bunker. Katie, seriously, how could I forget? I don't wanna chase by a sugar-deprived-zombie-like-Katie when I am back to the base."

"Great! Let's go back to the bunker! Sweetstime!" Katie shouted and rushed out of the room, dragging Irene along the way.

"By the way, what were you talking before I stepped-"

"It's-s nothing! Really! We just talked about Ed and his girlfriend. Their anniversary is coming and Eddie is planning some events-"

Irene stopped at her track and eyed Alyssa questioningly. "Wait, I thought you told me they broke up a couple weeks ago?"

"Oh! They made up and Eddie wanna do something to please his girl-"

"As long as I know, Edwin is not an event guy," now Irene started to get suspicious."Honestly, all of you guys have been acting weird in these days. What are you guys hiding?"

Alyssa laughed rather awkwardly and stammered. "We-e? Hid-ing? Hell no! Irene, you know there is absolutely no secret between us-"

"-Seems like you have it now." Irene said with a hint of irritation in her voice. "Now, spill it out."

" Hey, Rin! Did you get my video games? I've been waiting for three months for the newest version of Call on Duty!" Matt Osmond, the mechanic of the squadron, appeared nowhere at her back, almost making her jump.

"Matt, could you please not pop up suddenly and give me a heart attack? Yes, I got that and I will give you at the cafeteria."

"Ah, come on! Can you just give it now? Please?" Matt tried to give his best smile but Irene shoved him annoyingly.

"Payment first, you still owed me 20 bucks from last time's flying competition."

"Hey, that was just a practice drill!And I was not in the best condition-"

Irene smirked."No excuses. It was YOU suggested the game and I WON."

"Yeah, Matt. Act like a man and keep your promise." Katie chimed in. Matt sighed in exaggeratedly.

"Fine, I will give you money as soon as I get my paycheck. But can I have the game now?"

"Alright, Sergeant Soap. Let me get you precious video game now. Wait me in the hall."

"Yes! You are the best, Irene!" Matt rushed to his own barrack to get his playstation.

"Eh, video games. I don't understand why boys are crazy about them."Alyssa said.

"Same for your obsession for Star Wars." Irene elbowed her teammate playfully as they walked to their barrack.

"Hey! You can't compare these epics to those boring video games!" Alyssa yelled and the rest of two women busted to laughter.

" Guys, have you seen Josh by the way?" Irene asked when they arrived at their barrack. "I didn't see him the whole day."

"Another meeting with General, I guess..? Oh, Irene's missing her Prince Charming already.." Katie said slyly, wiggling her eyebrow.

"Shut up, Katie. One more time-" Irene stopped and stared at the bunch of red roses on her bunker bed.

"Aww, speaking of the devil, look at what your sweet Prince Charming had for you!" Alyssa cooed.

Ignoring her teammate, Irene picked up the roses. _This is not like Josh's style..what's up with him?_ Her curiosity increased when she noticed a small note between the roses. She pulled it out and read it.

 _Come out to the hangar -Josh_

"What are you waiting for, uh? Go and find out what's next!" Katie playfully slapped Irene, who was still puzzled by the whole situation.

"Okay.." Irene murmured. She failed to notice the sly smiles on her teammates' faces as three of them headed towards the hangar.

The hangar was strangely empty – only a few aircrafts were left in their usual spots. Irene started to wonder if her squadron was out for a secret mission or something when she jumped by a loud voice from the speaker.

"Okay, fellas! She's here and get in your position-"

"Damn it! Edwin! He turned on the speaker instead of the link AGAIN! " Alyssa screamed frantically as she yelled at the speaker. " Shut up, Edwin Brannen! She can hear you!"

"Brannen! Turn it off before you ruin everything!" Katie shouted at a phone-like device. "I swear I warned you thousand times-"

"Alright, calm down everyone!" Irene grabbed Katie's shoulder. "Seriously, What's all of this? Now stop hiding and spit it out!" She said in a frustrated voice.

Katie looked at Alyssa and signed. Both of them knew Irene was running out of her patience and a frustrated Irene was not a good sign. "Alright, I give in. It was Josh's idea-" She was cut off by a soft singing voice from the speaker.

 _Oh, her eyes, her eyes_

 _Make the stars look like they're not shinin'_

 _Her hair, her hair_

 _Falls perfectly without her trying_

 _She's so beautiful_

 _And I tell her everyday_

"Josh..?" Irene stared at the speaker ."What is he doing in the control room?"

"Good timing, Josh! Irene, come out the hanger!" Alyssa grinned broadly and pulled Irene, still confused and bewildered about all of this.

 _I know, I know_

 _When I compliment her she won't believe me_

 _And it's so, it's so_

 _Sad to think that she don't see what I see_

 _But every time she asks me, "Do I look okay?"_

 _I say,_

Outside the hangar was a huge open spacewith a fair view of the sky. It was late afternoon and the sky was crystal blue with a faint glow of sun yellow. And there was a wave of F-22 jets in the air. Irene recognized the jets instantly. It was her squadron.

 _When I see your face_

 _There's not a thing that I would change_

 _'Cause you're amazing_

 _Just the way you are_

As the waves of F-22 approached the sky in front of the hangar, several jets changed their positions in their flying formation- some moved down and others slowed down. Irene watched in amusement and glee when the jets flew above her in a heart-shaped formation.

 _And when you smile_

 _The whole world stops and stares for a while_

 _'Cause, girl, you're amazing_

 _Just the way you are_

"Wow…" Irene gasped and turned to her teammates, who were grinning like Cheshire cats. "So this is what you have been hiding?"

"Well, kind of. Actually, the real surprised is not here yet, girl!" Alyssa squeled excitedly. "Here they come!"

Irene turned her attention to the sky. Now the jets were no longer in the flying formation. Instead, each of them was swiftly maneuvering upside down in different directions. Moments later, thin, white contrail lines formed behind the aircrafts in the shape of alphabetic letters.

IRENE WILL U MARRY ME

"Oh my God…" Irene put her hand over her mouth with shock. Slowly, her face broke into a huge smile. Josh just asked her to marry him!

Someone tapped her shoulder. It was Katie. She grinned at Irene. "Well? So what is your answer?"

"Yes,"said Irene breathlessly. "A thousand times yes!"

"He can't hear you from here." Alyssa passed her the phone-like device she was holding. " This is the wireless radio we used for communication. Now say yes to him!"

"Captain? This is Valkyrie speaking. Affirmative, A thousand times yes!"

"Copy, Valkyrie. Edwin, this is Captain JCG. Talk to you later, Valkyrie!"Josh replied through the link.

A few minutes later, Josh's raptor slided inside the hangar, followed by the rest of the jets. As soon as Josh jumped out of the cockpit, Irene dashed towards him and kissed the glass surface of his helmet. Josh laughed inside his helmet.

"Calm down, Valkyrie! You can kiss me after I take off my helmet!"

"Calm down? How? Captain, this is the most wonderful moment in my life-" Josh cut her off by sealing her lips with a long loving kiss, which she returned with equal amount of passions. Irene felt her heart swell with joy and wished the time never ended until Josh broke the kiss and took out a small black box from his chest pocket. He knelt down before her and opened the box, revealing a beautiful platinum gold ring with a small diamond adorned at the center. He smiled warmly at Irene.

"Irene Valerie Madison, my beautiful, valiant, wonderful Valkyrie, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

"A million affirmatives! How many times I have to repeat? You silly, ridiculous muttonhead!" She laughed and reached up to kiss him again, before whispered," I love you."

She heard his deep, soft chuckle as he mumbled through the kiss. "I love you too."

"Romeo and Juliet, sorry to interrupt your fantastic time, but don't forget to thank us! Josh made us to practice this for two weeks!" Dylan said, stepping out of his cockpit.

Alyssa punched her wingmate. "Quiet, Dummy! You are ruining the moment!"

"Easy Allie! Guys, I don't know what to say.. thanks for everything! This is so amazing." Irene smiled at her teammates, who cheered and high-fived each other. Several of them, including Katie and Alyssa, hugged the couple and expressed their congratulations. Irene looked up and met Josh's eyes. His warm chocolate brown eyes filled with love and tenderness; she silently wished this movement never end…

Suddenly, a sharp alarm sound rang, startling everyone in the hangar. Edwin's urgent voice came out of the speaker.

"Squadron three-oh-seven, report to the meeting room 105 immediately. "

 **A/N: For reference, Valkyrie is Irene's call sign (kind of like nickname in the squadron) and Captain is Josh's call sign.**

 **A huge thank to Doragon Prime, IlxTigerLillyxll, Lady Minuialwen, and Skyress98 for favorite/follow!**


	3. Battle in Mission City

**Here's chapter 3! This chapter is mostly based on the F-22 raptors vs. Starcream scene from the first movie!  
**

 ***Bold lines - actual lines from _Transformers_ movie (2007)**

 **Again, I do not own anything from Transformers.**

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Chapter 3 Battle in Mission City

"God must hate us." Katie murmured while changing into her flight gear. "Why those stupid terrorists decided to launch an attack today of all days!"

"Easy, Kate." Irene said sternly, lacing her combat boots. "Terrorists never ask you what day they would start activity or not."

"Yup, genius. I know, I know." Katie sighed and grabbed the helmet from her locker. "Aren't you angry, upset, or even annoyed? Today is YOUR engagement day! You are supposed to-"

"We are soldiers, Kate." Irene started to walk out of the locker room. "Duty always comes before personal stuff."

"Girls, hurry up!" Alyssa yelled from outside. They ran all the way to the runways, where the rest of their teammates prepared for flight. Someone tapped Irene's shoulder before she stepped on the ladder beside her F-22. She turned around and met Josh's eyes.

"Hey, we-" Irene momentarily got stuck for words. _What should I say?_ Before she continued, Josh gently patted her shoulder and gave a quick kiss on her cheek.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine, just like last mission. " He gave her a reassuring smile, which made Irene relax a little bit and smiled back at him.

"Take care, Captain. Have a safe flight." She climbed up the ladder as Josh jogged to his own jet. She stepped inside the cockpit and gave a thumb-up to Alyssa, who was in the jet right next to her, before pressed a button to close the hatch.

After sealing her helmet and turning on all the necessary commands to power the engine, Irene closed her eyes to clear her mind. Everything was in a blur. Twenty minutes ago, the squadron was called to the briefing room and received an emergency mission support from Mission City, or more specifically, Sec Def. Colonel Paul Collins, their commander, just briefly told the squadron that a group of unidentified terrorists were approaching Mission City and targeting a" top secret article" evacuated from the Hoover Dam hours earlier. And that was it. Everyone got ready for the battle. Irene signed. Josh's wonderful proposal seemed a long time ago, despite of the fact that it just happened in less than thirty minutes.

" **Raptors, scramble, scramble, scramble.** " She snapped into reality when Edwin's voice came from her headset. She shook her head slightly to erase her thought. _Focus, Irene. Focus!_

" **Strike and Dark Stars roll call.** " Josh ordered through the link.

" **Look out the right side.** " Alyssa said. One by one, the raptors rolled on the runways for take off. Irene reported to the control tower.

"Valkyrie three-five-seven, standby."

" Valkyrie three-five-seven, cleared for takeoff. " _Finally_. The LSO in front of her signaled her jet for take off. She pushed the throttle and the jet started to speed up on the runway. One minute later, she joined the others in the sunset sky, which was a mixture of soft glowing yellow, light purple and blue colors. Usually, Irene would enjoy this beautiful view… well, if she was free of any dangerous, authenticated air strike mission involving some "unidentified" terrorists.

"Ah, it's so good to be back in the air!" Irene could picture Matt smirked inside his helmet. "I can't wait to blow some butts of those stupid terrorists!"

"Count me in." joined Ryan, Matt's flight partner. "Seriously, we really have to stretch our wings more often! When was our last operation?"

"Hey, don't forget me! Our last one was like.. six months ago at Alaska, I guess?" Dylan interrupted.

"Concentrate, soldiers!" Jackson Copper, one of the senior pilots of the squadron, snapped through the link. "This is not a practice drill or target mission! Our main goal is to push the killbox one while minimizing the civilian casualties. Understand?"

"Relax, Sarge. They are just eager for the operation." Josh said calmly. "Guys, still, take it seriously. Do not cause unnecessary damage and follow the order. Affirmative?"

Murmurs of agreement came through the link. Josh finished. "Good. Have a safe flight, everyone."

The whole flight to Mission City was rather silent. Even Matt and Dylan, the most talkative members in the squadron, stopped their chip-chatting during the entire trip. Irene felt her stomach twisted uneasily with nervousness; she had a bad feeling about this operation.

 _Stop thinking bad things. Everything will be alright._ She silently hoped her worry was nothing at all.

Ten minutes later, the skyrocket buildings of Mission City came into the jets' views. Josh ordered the entire squadron to circuit around the city to locate the target. Just then, a cracking voice turned everyone's attention.

"Raptors, raptors, are you online? Killbox is located at area 71. Request immediate air cover at area 71...Bring the rain."

"Copy. Air cover at area 71. Mark the target." Josh replied as the raptors headed to the indicated area.

" **Fighter jets in sixty seconds. We got friendlies mixed with bad guys. Targets will be marked.** " the cracking voice answered. _This is not gonna be easy._ Irene frowned, looking for any sign of the target. Suddenly, she heard Ryan gasped. "What the hell is THAT?"

Irene turned her eyes to the front view and froze. Miles away on the land, she could see two gigantic creatures.. or robots based on their outlines, fighting violently at the middle of the city. Fortunately, her cool-headed-pilot mode brought her back to the battlefield quickly before her thumb automatically pushed the button for the fire.

" **Target marked. Still waiting**." A green laser mark appeared on her screen. Irene tightened her grip on the throttle.

" **Time on target, 20 seconds.** " The jets flew straight to the marked robot.

" **F-22s, we are still waiting**."

Finally, the enormous black robot came into the shooting range. A spot of green laser light was shining on the robot's body. " **Weapons armed. Status green."** She said, firing the missile to the target. A couple of other missiles followed hers, hitting the metallic body of the robot. It howled painfully and fell with a small explosion. The jets roamed over the buildings and changed the direction, ready for the second launch.

" **Second wave's on approach.** " Jackson reported to the ground unit. Irene prepared to launch the next missile when someone screamed.

" **What is that? Break off!** " She jerked her head back and saw another robotic creature right behind her jet. She quickly lowered her jet, narrowly avoiding that thing's fire. The robot crashed to the luckless jet right next to Irene, which exploded and fell to the ground.

 _Damn it, one down!_ Irene gritted her teeth. She kept her eyes on that damn robot, which now changed into a F-22 and mixed into the other jets. Several voices flew out of the radio at the same time.

" **Copy.** "

"Jesus Christ, what's that-"

" **It's either a massive amount of-** "

"Raptors, keep an eye-"

"It took down Allan!" _Poor kid..._ Irene frowned. Allan was a rookie transferred to their squadron just a few months ago.

"Focus!" Josh yelled. Irene saw his jet speed up to catch the "jet". " **Two, get a lock! Pop that guy!** "

"Copy!" A couple of jets following suit, including Irene, fired the guns at the "jet". It flipped in the air and changed back into the robotic form and shooted back. Another couple of jets were shot. Irene gasped in horror when she recognized one of the crashing jet's ID. It was Katie's jet! She accelerated her jet to approach the flying robot, which already collided with several jets and destroyed them. Watching her comrades went down, She felt the anger slowly built in her head. _You are so dead now, shitty bot._

" **Stay on him. Keep him in your sights.** " Josh ordered as he fired again. Irene maneuvered her jet to clockwise direction as the jet suddenly stopped at the top of a building and transformed again. She was about to fire another missile before she heard Josh shouted over the link.

"Watch out!" Irene pulled on the throttle with all her might but it was late. The missile hit the jet's left wing and flames broke out. Muttering the curses, Irene frantically glanced down the land, searching for an opening space as the alarm started to ring through the cockpit. _Come on, just a little more.._ finally, an empty plaza came into her view. She lowered the attitude for an emergency landing before a burning jet fell right in front of her jet.

And then everything went dark.

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 **A/N: A huge thank for all the followers & favorites! This chapter took me a long time to finish since I'm not good at describing battle scenes and the aviation terms for pilots! Any feedback/ reviews would be welcomed!  
**


	4. Nightmare

**Here's chapter 4! Thanks for waiting and enjoy!**

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Chapter 4. Nightmare

 _Darkness._

 _Irene looked around. She was flying in her jet and there was only darkness around her. She tried to switch on her taxi lights but they were tried to call her squadron but no one answered. She tried to search a landing spot but there were only darkness beneath her._

 _She was in absolute panic._

 _The cracking sounds of gunshots and painful screams only worsened her fear. She rode her jet frantically in random direction, wishing her luck could help her to dodge a couple of shots._

" _Captain! Katie! Alyssa! Dylan! Anyone there?" She yelled hysterically. Suddenly, she found a pair of red_ _vicious_ _eyes glaring at her. The huge robot from the last attack turned into a jet and fired at her. She tried to fire back and dodge the shot, but her jet shook violently and a huge ball of flame flew towards her jet. Hot air and flames engulfed her before she spotted Josh's empty face inside the flame.._

"No! Josh!" She leapt and fell onto the ground with a slump. Slowly, her hotel room came into her blurry view as her eyes adjusted to the darkness.

 _A nightmare..._ she panted heavily and climbed back to her bed. She stared at the ceiling blankly. The horrible scenes from the nightmare flashed in her brain over and over even though she was wide awake.

How much she wished this was only a nightmare…

Yet this was real. Josh was dead. As well as several other her teammates. Irene felt a pang of pain inside her heart. She buried her head with a pillow and sobbed quietly- her parents were sleeping at next door and she did not want them to worry her again.

Two weeks ago, she finally woke up from a coma in the military hospital at Washington D.C. The medics said it was a miracle that she survived from the crash-landing, while many of her teammates, unfortunately, did not make it.

(Flashback)

 _Light._

 _Slowly, everything came into Irene's view. She saw a white, shiny ceiling with a couple of blurry face yelling at her._

 _What happened..? Oh, the battle…I was fighting with that jet-transforming robot before that shot me.. Wait! The squadron! She jerked up from her hospital bed suddenly but soon laid back with painful groan._

" _Irene! Easy, your injuries.. oh thanks God you are back…" Her mother, a petite brunette woman, helped her daughter lay back on her bed, eyes brimming with tears of joy. "We are worried to sick.."_

" _Mom.." Irene looked at her mother warily. "Sorry to worry you…"_

" _Irene.." She turned around and met Alyssa's red, tear-streaked face. "You made it.. at last.."_

 _Irene smiled weakly. "Allie, I'm here, alive and fresh. What about the squadron?"_

 _Another tear rolled out of Alyssa's brown eye. She swallowed harshly and cover her mouth like she was trying not to sob. Dylan, standing right next to her, took a deep breath and said in a cracking voice._

" _Six were down. Three were injured including you. Rest of us are fine but you know.. everyone is having a hard time to get over this…"_

 _Irene closed her eyes briefly. Her heart ached with the sorrow of loss of her comrades. She asked Dylan. "Who.. were down..?"_

" _Katie, Allan, Matt, Louis, oh and Sarge Jack too.. Ryan got two broken ribs and several burns and Chris had a moderate concussion. And you were in a coma for almost ten days."_

" _Gosh.." Irene groaned, unconsciously sweeping back the bangs from her forehead, when she felt something cold and smooth touching her skin. She lifted her left hand and saw a ring on her ring finger. She suddenly realized that nobody mentioned her boyfriend-or fiance._

" _Guys, where is Josh? Did he get injured too?"_

 _Everyone froze at her question. Heavy silence filled the room and Irene had a sink feeling that something had happened… She barely raised herself to a sitting position and repeated her question anxiously.  
"Where is he?"_

 _Alyssa and Dylan glanced at her parents, who nodded slowly with anguish looks on their faces. Alyssa took a deep breath and opened her trembling lips._

" _Josh was down.. his jet crashed.. and..he died at the scene…"_

 _All of sudden, everything was frozen. Irene stared at Alyssa blankly and shook her head in disbelief. "Allie, don't scare me.. I'm serious!" She desperately expected Alyssa laugh and tell her this was a bad joke at all.._

 _Her father squeezed her hand and said softly. "Irene, Alyssa is telling the truth… Josh is gone… ."_

 _Her head started whirling and buzzing. "No." She whispered."Josh is the best flyer in the squadron.. no one can take him down…"_

" _Oh sweetheart.." Her mother wiped her tear and tried to hug her daughter._

" _No!" Irene cried, jumped out of the bed and sprinted to the door, but blocked by Dylan and Alyssa, who grabbed her shoulders and wrists. She struggled against their grips, crying madly. "No! You are lying! He promised he would be fine! I have to see him with my eyes!"_

" _Irene, please!" Alyssa grabbed her friend tightly as fresh tears rolled out of her red eyes._

" _He can't be dead…" Her vision became blurry when she felt a sharp pain on her torso and collapsed on the floor. The voice around her faded away as she fell into unconsciousness again.._

(End of the flashback)

She couldn't remember the rest after she woke up again. For the next two weeks, everything was a blur. She felt nothing. Except the numbness, emptiness and pain. Most of the time, she just stared at the air blankly. Sometimes she lifted her left hand and gazed her engagement ring with silent tears. Just about her parents and teammates began to consider arranging an appointment with a psychiatrist for her, she attended the funeral and broke up to tears-much to everyone's relief, for they had been worried about Irene's lifeless, zombie-like state.

No longer feeling like to fall asleep, Irene got up and staggered to the bathroom. Turning on the water faucet, she splashed the cold water on her tear-streaked face roughly. The nightmare was still vivid in her head. The explosion, the evil red eyes, Josh's dead body…

Irene bit her lips and gripped the edge of the sink to stop herself from falling. She raised her head and met with her reflection in the mirror. She looked like a total wreck -with her dull, lifeless and tangled brown hair, red fluffy eyes with dark circles underneath, and a worn-out, pale face. She gave a deep sigh and dragged her body back to the bedroom. Grabbing her cellphone from the nightstand, she dropped into an armchair and turned on her phone. She opened her photo album and smiled bitterly at the pictures of her and Josh at New Year party. Josh was gazing at her lovely while she wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling and pulling him into a hug. Irene closed her phone as her heart ached again. She wanted Josh back. So desperately.

 _Josh, how should I get over this without you..._


	5. NEST (Part I)

**Sorry for keep you waiting! Last week I had little time to write this fanfic cuz of schoolworks (yup, typical excuse but still). Hope you enjoy this chapter**

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Chapter 5. NEST (part I)

It was another day in Nellis Air Force Base.

As usual, all the pilots of squadron 307th were hanging around the hangar and checking their own jets. Alyssa and Dylan were bickering between their shared toolbox while Ryan was chasing after Chris who stole his snickers bar. Rest of the members, including four newbies from Holloman AFB, were either cleaning or checking their jets for the upcoming test flight. Except Edwin, leaning against one of the F-22s, was busy flirting with Laura, a new female member of the Squadron. Everything seemed normal as usual.

Except Irene, who sat inside the cockpit of her repaired jet and gazed at her engagement ring.

Three months. Although her psychic suggested her to take a short leave from the military for psychotherapy treatments, she returned to the base as soon as she got out the hospital, insisting that she would get better if she occupied with military duty. However, she was wrong –no matter she tried to act like her usual tough, carefree pilot self, everything in the base stirred memories between her and Josh and mostly she ended up either sobbing in the bathroom by herself or haunting by the terrible images of Josh's death.

"Irene? Are you okay?" Alyssa's worrying voice came under the jet. Irene signed and poked her head out of the cockpit.

"This is fiftieth time today, Allie. I AM FINE! I just need some time… to check if she works properly.. or not." She patted the screen inside the cockpit.

Allie's frowning face popped out from the outside of cockpit. "Yes, and every time you said you were fine, it always ended up with two-hour sobbing time inside the bathroom, closet, or some random dark corners I can ever think of."

"Not to mention another finding Nimo, no, Irene mission." Dylan joined. Alyssa dropped the tool she was holding, which hit Dylan's foot with a thud.

"Ouch! I'm just telling the truth!"

Alyssa just sent a glare under the jet and turned to Irene with a concern look on her face.

"Look, Irene… I know it's hard.. but I think you really have to meet some professional psychiatrist, or at least take a short break.. you have been in this emotionally broken state since you woke up.."

"Allie is right. Plus, you would not be able to perform your duty properly in this condition." Dylan said, rubbing his sore foot.

Irene grimaced. Dylan had a point: she can't fly again if she continues to be somber like this. What if she lost in her anguish thoughts and failed the mission during the flight?

 _Maybe I should take their suggestions and got some therapies .._ She thought as she climbed down the ladder at the side of her raptor. Not surprisingly, she found most of her teammates watched her with concern. With a small sigh, she held her hand and said. "Okay, folks. Go back to your works. I'm fine, really! Alyssa is just fussing over again." She tried to give them a shaky small smile and walked away before her tears threatened to roll out, but Ryan stepped on her way.

"It's okay, girl. You don't have to act tough to hide it… just come to us when you need, okay?" He murmured gently and pulled her into a hug.

Irene was taken back a bit. _It is not like Ryan I know._ Ryan was the team's biggest prankster along with Matt, his wingmate. They loved playing pranks and joking even during the most serious situations, much Josh and Jackson's dismay. Nonetheless, everyone in base loved this inseparable trouble-making duo that brought so much fun and liveliness around the base, and not to mention their fantastic flying skills. But after Matt's death, Ryan seemed to become a complete different person - gone with his mischievous smile and twinkling eyes, he locked himself inside his barrack and barely talked to others until last month, when he slowly started joking around others to cheer them up. But he never comforted any teammates in this way, claiming that this was too mushy to his style.

Irene buried her head in Ryan's arms and let her tears roll out of her eyes again. "I miss everyone..Josh, Katie, Matt..Allan, Louis.. and even the grumpy Sarge Jack…" She choked, swallowing the sob again.

Allie wrapped her arm around her distressed friend and whispered softly. "Irene, we miss them too…"

Soon everyone in the hangar came over and gave a group hug to Irene, except two newbies James and Andrew, who stood beside the group awkwardly. Wiping her tears away, Irene smiled weakly at them and broke the hug. "Thanks, guys.. I.. I will come back soon, okay?" She began walking to the exit, but stopped when someone called after her.

"Where are you going this time?"

"Colonel's office. I think I need a leave from the base… just for a while." She walked out without looking back. After she disappeared from sight, Alyssa signed in relief.

"Finally. She took our advice. It's just heartbreaking to see her like this."

"Agree." murmured Scott, rubbing his temple. "Honestly, I can't stand her gloomy mood anymore. She really needs to get over - ouch!"

It was Edwin who smacked his head. "Watch your mouth, man. It's not everyday you lost your fiancé right after the proposal. "

"And right in front of your eyes." agreed Chris. "She needs time."

"I can't imagine the pain she went through." Laura said sympathetically. "I would ask for a discharge and lock myself inside my bedroom forever."

"Daring, that's me." Ryan smiled bitterly. "At least she was strong enough to walk around the base. "

Dylan clapped his hand and turned other's attention. "Okay, let's just go back to our business and hope she feels better after her little vacation, shall we? " Murmuring agreement, everyone went back to their own work except Alyssa, who pulled his sleeves and whispered.

"Should we go and check her? Who knows she'll end up at nowhere again!"

He signed. "Allie, Irene is not a seven-year-old kid ! She doesn't need someone to fuss around her."

But Alyssa already started dragging him to the door. "Fine! I'm coming, coming."

Meanwhile, Irene arrived at Colonel Collins's office. She wiped the remaining trace of tear from her face and was about to knock the door before she heard the furious voice of her commander.

"I will not put my soldiers on death rows, George! This is too cruel for them!"

"Paul, this is only a proposal, not an order. We will let them decide –"

"They already suffered heavy losses from last attack at Mission City and many of them are still traumatized by the death of their comrades. And how about those alien terrorists? One of them took down half of the squadron and one third of army unit! Unless the Pentagon has better tactics to hunt it down, you are not allowed to recruit a single soldier under my command."

Irene's ears perked up at the mention of the "attack at Mission City". She pressed her ear against the door to hear their conversation clearly.

"Our sincere condolences to those brave soldiers and their family. " A third voice came from inside. "But Colonel, this time would be different. Britain Royal Navy and UN will provide military assistance, and the Headquarter in Pentagon promised to provide the best high-tech radar system to track and hunt Decepticons-I mean those alien robots at the hostile side. And on the bright side, most of the Decepticons are scattered and gone for hiding since their leader's death, including Starscream, the alien robot responsible for the air assault in Mission City. We would terminate them as soon as possible before they unite again- and that's why we need Squadron 307th, one of the elite fighter squadrons in USAF."

 _Starscream._ The name was hot in her mouth and slowly imprinted into Irene's heart like a burning iron. _Starscream...So it was that alien robot killed Josh, Katie and others..._ She could see its devilish red eyes and ugly, deformed metal face. Suddenly, the image of the robot flared up, and Irene felt the rage building inside her heart and spreading throughout her body. _It kill Josh. It destroyed my team. my future. Everything. And those aliens are still here._

"Well, then why don't you recruit pilots from another base? There are Edwards, Santa Fe, Holloman, and should I name more? And unfortunately, I'm afraid those elite pilots you wanted were already gone at this point, included Goodwin, Osmond, Sergeant and more. All they left were injured, traumatized soldiers and some inexperienced rookies. I am sorry, gentlemen. You found the wrong base, so please excuse me-oh, Lieutenant Madison. What brings you here today?"

Irene was standing right in front of Colonel Collins, who just flung open his office door and looked at her surprised. She saluted to him and spoke. " My apologies, sir. I was here to request something and accidently heard some of your conversations."

" Ah, that offer. Madison, don't bother to listen to them. It's just an offer, and I already declined it considered the squadron's situation. You need more time to let new personnel adjust the team and re-train for operations."

"Actually, I am quite interested about this alien-robot termination project. " Irene said, turning her face to two military officers behind Collins with a determined look. "And I would like to request the transfer to the organization these gentlemen mentioned earlier, sir."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Reviews and comments are always welcomed!**

 **P.S good news: one of our beloved Autobots will make his appearance in next chapter!**

 **P.P.S Beta writer wanted! English is not my first language and sometimes I am too busy to proofread the chapters... I will be appreciate if anyone can introduce me a great beta writer good at grammars and sentence structures! Thank You again!**


	6. NEST (Part II)

**Wow. 13 Favorites, 19 Follows and 4 Reviews! Thanks for your support!**

 **A/N: I changed the part of explaining Starscream's whereabout in chapter 5- Starscream was reported as disappear from the earth previously, but now he was described as gone for hiding with other decepticons on the earth. I think it made better sense since Irene would be more "motivated" if she knew her No.1 Enemy was under the same sky.**

 **And for Reviews -**

 **Angelwings5952 - You will see the hints about one of the Autobots at the end of this chapter and yes, they will help her eventually.**

 **Kat151820 - Thanks for waiting my story! I will try my best to improve my writing ;)**

 **And the last news - I am terribly sorry for all my lovely readers, but I won't post another chapter for next two weeks because I am writing essays for four-year university transfer application and I want to finish these ASAP! But I promise you I will update as soon as I finish my essays! Anyway, Enjoy chapter 6!**

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Chapter 6. NEST (part II)

 _One month later_

Today was her last day at Nellis AFB.

Irene looked around her barrack. She strolled around the room, her finger gently tracing the walls, the bunkers, and everything else in this place she had called her home for four years. Closing her eyes, she inhaled the air deeply. She could smell the dusty Mojave Desert, her sweaty military uniforms, Alyssa's lavender-scent shampoo, and a hint of Katie's favorite milk chocolate… _Katie couldn't live without it…_ Smiling sadly at the memory of her cheerful friend, she grabbed her military duffle bag with her stuff and walked out of the barrack.

When she announced her departure to NEST –the newly founded alien-hunting military group, all of her squadron thought she finally went insane from the tragic death of her lover. It took Irene some time to convince them she decided this on her own with her sanity. Especially Alyssa and Dylan, who followed her to the office and overheard the whole conversations between her and two military officers from NEST.

 _(Flashback)_

 _They busted in Commander's Office right after those two officers left. After a long discussion and negotiation, Colonel Collins finally approved her transfer to the air combat team at NEST much to his dismay, but delight to the NEST officers. One of them who addressed himself as U.S army Captain William Lennox gave her a brief introduction of NEST and several paper works for her transfer before they left. During the whole process, Collins kept giving her worried looks and asked her before she was dismissed._

" _Madison, I_ _hope you reconsider your decision. This is a highly-risky position and you have been in your worst condition since your injury…" he trailed off, unable to recall the horrible attack took away his soldiers._

" _Don't worry, sir. I promise I will be back in my top form as soon as possible before the transition-" Someone threw the officer door open. She turned around and met the shocked faces of Alyssa and Dylan._

 _There was a short moment of silence before Alyssa finally spoke in a trembling voice."What the hell are you thinking, Irene? Are you finally driven crazy by your grief?"_

" _I am perfectly sane right now, Allie. And I decided this on my own. " She said calmly._

 _Dylan shook his head."But it's too DANGEROUS! You saw those shape-shifting robots- one of them killed half of the team! And who were those got killed? Josh, Katie, Matt, Louis, Sarge Jack, and even a rookie like Allan are top elite combat pilots in the USAF! You could get killed next time!"_

 _Irene frowned. "Do I look_ _pathetic_ _enough to dig my own grave, Dylan? First of all, there are other military units and a whole air wing in the team and I will work with them, obviously. And second, I already got shot by that thing once and SURVIVED. What I need to analyze its flight style and learn its weakness to bring it down. And lastly, I felt like it's my responsibility to hunt them down before…" Her voice lowered with menace. "Before more soldiers lost their comrades, more people lost their loved ones by these devils."_

 _Both her friends froze at her dark ominous voice. Watching their terrified expressions, Irene quickly assured them in calmer voice. "Anyway, don't worry about me. I will be extra careful during operations and return to the base as soon as the hunting is over, okay?"_

 _(End of flashback)_

Irene slipped her hand inside her military jacket and traced the cold, smooth feeling of her engagement ring, hanging on her neck on a thin silver chain. Her grip on the ring tightened as Josh's face floated before her eyes. _Don't worry, Josh. I will not let you and the rest of the squadron die in vain._ Taking a deep breath, she walked to the hangar to bid goodbyes to her remaining teammates.

A few minutes later, she entered the hangar and found none of her teammates around. _Please don't tell me it's another farewell surprise.._ placing her duffle bag next to her jet, she yelled, half annoyingly and half jokingly. "Guys, I know you are here, just come out and let me see what you got this time…"

" We are coming with you, Irene." She turned her head and saw all of her teammates coming in. She raised her eyebrows as she noticed each of them were carrying a couple of luggages like her. "Where are you guys going?"

"Coming with you!" Alyssa exclaimed excitedly, throwing her arms in the air. "Ta-da! Big Surprise, uh?"

"We also signed up for that group, nest or birdhouse whatever they call." Dylan explained to dumbfound Irene while throwing his military backpack into his raptor.

It took Irene several seconds to realize what they were saying. "WHAT?" Her eyes widened in shock. "Why did you do that? Do you have a death wish or something? Didn't you realize you just volunteered to the most dangerous operation –"

"Hey, look who's talking about danger now."Ryan smirked and ruffled Irene's brown hair, messing her neatly-tied ponytail. "Who said our occupation is one-hundred percent safe at non-war period?"

"Yap. The moment we soared the sky at speed of 900 miles per hour in these babes, we already put our lives into a life-or-death situation, didn't we? " Chris patted his raptor as if it was his favorite pet.

Irene groaned. _Great. Now this became more complicated with everyone involved._ She asked Allie beside her: " Who's coming anyway?"

"Let me see.." Allie started to count on her fingers."Me, Dylan..three… six… ten… actually, all of us are going."

"You got to be kidding me." Irene murmured, rubbing her temper. "Again, why did you sign up this?"

"Same purpose as yours." Ryan said, his eyes suddenly darkened. "Time to take sweet revenge for our dear friend, Matthew Osmond."

"Count me in, bro." Chris's face was distorted with anger. "Whatever that thing, or that person is, I will make that creature pay a price of Katie's death." Even though Katie and Chris were not in long-term relationship like Josh and Irene, they relied on each other a lot and enjoyed each other's company. And needless to speak, Katie's death was also a huge blow to Chris.

"I am going for Allan." Scott joined. He and Allan were best friends since they were in middle school and people always joked that someone should glue on this inseparable duo. "I will teach him a painful lesson of messing around Fighter Squadron 307."

"Alright, I got you here." Irene turned her eyes to four new members of the squadron. "How about you guys? If you are not for any revenge or-"

"Actually, I am here because of Louis." Laura bit her lips to stop her tear falling. "He-he is- I mean he was my twin brother, anyway."

"I will follow you wherever you go."Gerald, another rookie, gently put his hand on Laura's shoulder.

"We just want get out of this base." Andrew poked James's arm. "And participate in real operations, not those practice drills."

Irene looked around her old teammates whose faces were flamed with bitterness and rage instead of their usual jolliness and bright energy. The images of her dead teammates came across her mind, overlapping her teammates' furious faces…She felt waves of pain and wrath struck her heart as it started to burn with revenge. She slowly paced between her teammates, her voice echoing the entire hangar. "We already lost our family, friends, lovers… and we will not let that vicious group of terrorists take another life. Never. For our honorable members of three oh seven."

"For all the heroic fighters of the Squadron 307th." Colonel Collins's voice came from the entrance and all of the pilots quickly stood at attention and saluted. Collins gazed them sternly.

"Just a few words, Squadron Three oh seven. Follow orders, watch your manners, get along with other units, do not even try to blow up another jet or put a tarantula in the General's drawer…" A few snickers were heard at this point."..and most important of all, safe flight." His voice softened at the end, silencing the hangar. Then he walked towards each personnel, shaking their hand and bidding them good bye. At Irene's turn, he handed her an envelope instead of shaking her hand. Seeing her confusing expression, he patted her shoulder gently.

"Your promotion document and captain's insignia. From now on, Squadron Three oh seven is under your command. "

Again, Irene was stunned for the second time in this morning before she hesitantly took the envelope. "Sir, I –I don't think I can take this responsibility. I am not experienced enough.."

"I trust you can handle this. And so does the committee. Your flight experience is long enough, and you showed the leadership, selflessness and courage throughout your service period. Also, you used to be Captain Goodwin's second-in-command, so the next person in charge is no other than you. And one last order," He glanced the three-oh-seven personnel with a hint of sadness on his face. "Keep your team safe and sound..as much as you can."

With a determined look, She saluted sharply."Yes sir. Your wish is my command."

"Good. Now soldiers, get ready for departure. You are supposed to leave in twenty five minutes sharp."

* * *

 _Fourteen hours later, at some point of Pacific Ocean_

"Finally!" Dylan stepped out of the CV-22 they had been on broad for twelve hours. "Our new home!"

"Ah..my back hurts so much…"Allie grumbled, straightening her sore back. "Why can't we just ride our raptors? That would be way faster!"

"Fuel limitation." Chris explained as he swung his military surplus backpack onto his shoulder. "The fuel tank of F-22 can't fill that much fuel to fly across the Pacific Ocean."

"So when will the jets come?" Ryan asked, looking around the airbase of the Diego Garcia.

"Three or four days later. The USS Rangers will ship your F-22s to the base." Irene turned around at the familiar voice and saw William Lennox, the NEST officer she met weeks ago, approach her squadron with two other men. He smiled warmly to the group. "Welcome to NEST, ladies and gentlemen. Hope you had a nice trip from Nellis to Diego Garcia."

However, none of the squadron responded to his welcoming words. They were all busy staring at the man in a blue and red jacket right next to Lennox with pure shock, especially Irene.

 _He looks exactly like him…firm square jaw, short dark brown hair, tall muscular form… almost, except the aqua blue eyes…._ Irene gazed at the man longingly, eyes brimming with tear. She whispered softly.

"Josh? Is that you?"


	7. NEST (Part III)

**Wow, 1,000 views? I can't believe it! Thanks for your supports! Here comes Chapter 7.**

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Chapter 7. NEST (Part III)

Irene looked at the stranger in disbelief. _This can't be true. Josh went down right before my eyes._

There was a brief awkward silence between two groups before Alyssa broke the ice. "Eh.. excuse me sir, but do you have any relative named Joshua Goodwin from USAF Fighter Squadron 307th? "

"Hm?" The person in question seemed confused to her question. Before he opened his mouth, Chris popped in, quickly shoved Allie away and gave him a tight hug.

"Man! Captain, where on the earth have you been? What happened…" before he finished his ranting, Nate pulled him away from the dumbfounded Josh-alike man who was absolutely clueless of the newcomers' behaviors.

"You muttonhead! Are you blind or what? This person is not Josh! Look at his..." Nate looked the man up and down in wide-eyed shock. "...do you have a twin brother by the chance?"

Dylan got Nate in a headlock and dragged him away with an apologetic look. "Sorry man! My teammates just… mistook you for.. a friend of us! Never mind! Guys, quiet!"

Oblivious of the small commotion beside her, Irene just started at the man looked strikingly like her late fiancé. It was the man's deep baritone voice brought her back to reality.

"Excuse ma'am? I'm afraid you and your comrades got the wrong person. I am Op-"

"Peter O. Prime, Chief Staff of Special Weaponry Team from Pentagon." Lennox quickly cut in, earning strange looks from his two companions. Ignoring them, he introduced another man at his left side. "And this is USAF Technician Sergeant Robert Epps from SWAT team."

"Pleasure to meet you, fellas. And may I ask who's the leader of your team?"

Irene stepped forward and saluted. "U.S Air Force Fighter Squadron three oh seven, Captain Irene Madison at your service, gentlemen."

Those three men before her saluted in return. Epps gestured the Squadron to follow him. "This way, ladies and gentlemen. I know you are all exhausted from long flight, but first you will have a short briefing with commanders of NEST in the vault before I show your barracks."

* * *

Lennox watched Epps guide the new pilots into the airbase headquarter. A cough behind him turned his attention. His gaze met with a pair of confused bright, almost unearthly aqua eyes.

"Lennox, I do not understand why you lied to the new recruits. They have to know our existence sooner or later…"

Lennox sighed. "Not right now, Prime...for us humans, it's not everyday you find out that you have teamed up with a group of thirty-foot transformable alien robots. Especially Squadron three oh seven."

Peter-or the holoform of Optimus Prime, tilted his head questioningly. "I thought you informed us that these humans already learned the presence of Cybertronians in the battle of Mission City."

"Only Decepticons, more specifically. They still have no idea about the alliance of Autobots. General Morshower ordered your existence as a secret until all other combat teams arrive at Diego Garcia in two weeks. He will introduce Autobots officially to the whole recruits at then. Also, Squadron three oh seven would need time to come to terms with your alliance, since.. their first encounter with Cybertronians was not exactly a pleasant experience. "

"I understand." The leader of Autobots nodded thoughtfully. "Then I should go and alert other Autobots to stay in the alternative forms for a while."

* * *

If someone told Irene one week ago that supernatural things like reincarnation really existed, she would have thought that was a joke and laughed it off.

Until now. During the entire meeting, she could not get the image of that stranger out of her mind. Shaking her head, she tried to look straight and focus on the welcome speech. _Stop thinking about him. He is just a stranger looks like Josh…_

 _But his face.. his pose..and even his voice..gosh, if it was not his eyes, I would have thought Josh had come back to life…_

The distant sound of the speaker interrupted her train of thoughts. "... the primary target of NEST are extraterrestrial robotic creature called Decepticons in their language. According to sources they are currently hiding at different locations of the world in disguise of vehicle forms and they can be detected by the energy sensor.."

At the mention of word Decepticons, her eyes lit up and her blood slowly boiled with rage. The vivid memory of the horrible assault, the funeral of her dead comrades, and the devilish alien jet - clenching her fist under the table, she mentally slapped herself. _Damn it, Irene Valerie Madison. You are here to REVENGE, not to find another boyfriend! Just because he looks like Josh doesn't mean he is Josh himself!_

"Captain? Irene? Back to the Earth!" Her train of thoughts were interrupted by Allie, who elbowed her dreamy-looking friend in the rib. "The welcome speech is over. Let's go to our new quarters. "

Walking out of the conference room, Irene was about to say something but Ryan popped out from the back. "Damn, did you see that blue jacket from Pentagon? how can he look THAT alike to Josh Goodwin? They are as like as two peas in a pod!"

"I know right!" Scott joined them. "Jeez, I knew the reincarnation thing actually exists! Captain must come back- Ouch! That's hurt, Terrance!" Rubbing the back of his head, he sent a glare to Terry behind him.

"I told you too much fantasies could drive you nuts, bro." Terry walked up nonchalantly, ignoring the rants of irritated Scott.

James as a newbie of the team, having no idea of his senior teammates' reactions, asked them curiously. "So.. the late Captain Josh Goodwin? Was he that like the Pentagon agent we just met?"

"Like mirror images, except the eyes. " Grumbling, Ryan let out a big yawn. "I can't wait for a nice warm bunker and a hot meal...Yo, Captain! Where are you going? "He and other teammates watched Irene turn her heels and run back to the conference room.

"Go ahead! I will catch you guys later!" She yelled back and soon, she pushed the heavy metal door of the conference room and sighed in relief when she saw a group of officers remained in the hall. One of them noticed her and called her over.

"Captain Madison? Is there anything we can help you with?"

Irene paused a second before she spoke. "Yes, sir. I would like to meet the Chief Commander General Morshower for a personal request. "

"What kind of request, Madison?" The said general marched through the small crowd of officers with an interest look.

Irene greeted him with a sharp salute. "General Morshower, as the first-in-command of Squadron three oh seven, I would like to request for joining the main force of the alien hunting mission, along with other personnel of the Squadron."

"Ah, don't worry about that, Madison. " Morshower patted her shoulder with a look of satisfaction. "Always being a fierce raptor. Of course the whole Squadron three oh seven will be assigned to Air Combat team under Captain, no, soon-to-be Major Lennox's command for termination of these' cons. For more information, you can ask the personnel of the air combat team at its first strategic meeting in a couple of days. Any other question?

"Actually, I have one more request, sir." Irene's calm voice echoed the now silent hall. "I would like to claim the life of an alien jet named Starscream or whatever it names… with my own hands."

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 **A/N: Dun-dun-dun! Okay so our dear heroine started to show her dark side... what would you think? Should I make her become more vengeful in the future or not? Please give me a feedback :)**


	8. Peter

**Happy late Thanksgiving, dear readers! I am so sorry about the late update - all the college application and holiday stuff drove me so busy that I almost forgot updating a new chapter! Anyway, here's chapter 8 and I recommend you this beautiful song when you read this chapter - Winter Sleep by Olivia Lufkin. I watched a Jelsa video called Winter Love Elsa and Jack using this song and it inspired me a lot when I worked over the main plot of this fanfic.**

 **P.S A huge thank for Bee4ever and xTinyGhoulx! Sorry for keeping you wait so long!**

* * *

 _ **Winter Sleep**_

 _ **by Olivia Luftkin**_

 _ **It keeps coming back to me**_

 _ **I remember this pain..**_

 ** _It spreads across my eyes_**

 ** _Everything is dull.._**

Chapter 8. Peter

 _White._

 _Everything was pure white, so white that Irene could not open her eyes. Snows and ice particles slapped her face mercilessly as the howling wind rushed into her clothes, freezing her body through the process. Shivering from the cold, Irene tried to move her feet buried in the layers of snow. She grabbed the edge of her boot and pulled it with all her strength, but her feet seemed to be stuck on the frozen ground. Cursing silently, she glanced around her surrounding with her hand covered her eyes to block out the blowing snow._

" _Help, is anyone there? Please!" She frantically cried out yet her voice faded with the blowing wind. Her body became frozen as the time went on. The piercing cold wind sent chillness through her body and she felt her body stiffened and icy like an ice statue. Just then, she heard the crunching sounds of footsteps. Someone was coming! A gleam of hope raised in her mind as she yelled desperately for her savior._

" _Help! My boots stuck on the ground-" She stopped in mid-sentence, her grey eyes widened in shock, then glowed with remorse._

" _You," she growled menacingly to the gigantic robot before her. Starscream hissed, its red eyes gleamed evilly._

" _Disgusting organic creature.." before he finished, Irene drew out her pistol from her side in a flash motion and fired to her nemesis._

 _And then everything stopped. The wind died entirely, the snow froze in the mid-air. Everything was still except that robot, falling in a slow motion. Before its body collided at the frozen ground, Irene watched in horror and shock that its face turned to Josh's painful face._

" _No, Josh!" A cold wave struck her heart; the freezing sensation spread through her veins and she felt her whole body paralyzed with pain..._

She sprang out and her head hit hard on something. Shivering uncontrollably, she panted breathlessly and gripped her chest; her whole body was shaking from coldness she felt in her nightmare. Wiping away the beads of cold sweat, Irene shakily grabbed her backpack beside her bunk bed and fumbled out a small bottle from the front pocket. Sighing heavily, she dropped a couple of white anxiety pills on her palm and swallowed it.

She sat still, her mind slowly cooled down as she listened to the light snores of Allie, who was sleeping at the top bunk. Another wave of chill pierce her heart, but instead of pain and sorrow she used to feel after waking up from nightmares, she felt her heart hardened with hatred and rage. She clenched the bed sheet underneath her hands. _Watch out, Starscream. Next time we meet, I'll take you down and crush you into tiniest stardusts in the universe._ After learning the identity of her nemesis, her nightmares no longer tortured her anymore; quite the opposite, they added fuel to her desire for vengeance. Setting aside her grief, Irene had concentrated on her physical and flight training since last month for her new mission: Termination of Decepticons.

After a while, she grabbed her watch next to her pillow; It was only 5:10 am in Diego Garcia and she could see the dim light of dawn outside the window. No longer felt like going back to sleep, she put on her combat pants combat boots and tiptoed out of the barrack as quietly as possible, trying not to wake up her roommates.

The warm, salty air from ocean greeted her when she reached the rooftop of her living quarter, a small three-story villa complex in the base facing the Pacific-Indian Ocean. Irene gazed at the horizon of the ocean afar; the sun had not risen yet and the sky was the same dark midnight blue color as the ocean. At that moment, she heard footsteps behind and turned around, surprised to see Peter O. Prime standing at the door to the stairs.

"Agent Prime?" She asked in astonishment, "What are you doing here?"

The said person greeted her with a friendly wave and said, "Well, good morning, Captain Madison. I am taking my daily morning patrol. How about you? Isn't it too early for your wake-up call?" he walked towards Irene, who was standing next to metal fences.

"Yeah.. they are generous enough to give the squadron a day-off to adjust to the new base, but I couldn't get to sleep because of some stupid night... " She hesitated. _Why should I tell a stranger about my nightmare?_ "... jet lag. Bugs me every time when I transfer to a new base. "

"Jet lag..? Oh, you mean desynchronosis. Fourteen hours of flight must drain of your energy. You should recharge.. no, take more rest before the training begin, otherwise General Morshower would not allow you to hunt down the Decepticons, right?" His warm pleasant smile reminded her of Josh's smile, which used to comfort and support her on her bad days. Whenever Irene was in a bad mood, he was always there for her, sitting next to her and listening to her troubles. _But not anymore now_...this memory struck her heart like a bust of cold wind as she realized that Josh was no longer beside her.

"...excuse me, Captain?" Agent Prime's concerned voice snapped her back to reality. "Are you alright? You look worn out. Are you tired? Do you want me to escort you to your quarter?"

She quickly shook her head. "No, I was just lost in my thought… but thanks for your concern.." A bitter smile came to her lips as she stared at his worried face. _Damn, he looks more like Josh with his worried look!_ She turned her head away, forcing her tears back in her eyes.

There was a short silence until Prime spoke out, "May I ask you a question, Captain?"

"Yes?" she looked at him questioningly.

"Why did you and your comrades look so shocked on our first meeting?"

Irene paused. _Should I tell him the whole story?_ Since Josh's death, all she heard from others were some formal condolences like "I'm so sorry" and "Your fiancé was a brave one" and she had gotten sick and tired of them. Receiving another pitiful glance was the last thing she wanted in the first morning at her new base.

He seemed to notice her discomfort and quickly added, " I'm sorry, ma'am. I did not mean to make you feel uncomfortable. Just pretend I never ask this question-"

"You look like him," Irene blurted out, then covered her mouth with shock realizing what she just said. _Why did I tell him?_ She was about to say something to evade more question when she looked into his sincere bright aqua eyes. "My wingmate." She added, almost unconsciously.

Prime was a little taken aback by her abrupt answer, but nodded nevertheless. "I see. No wonder you looked that astonished when we first met. Is he in the U. S Armed Force?"

Irene felt a lump in a throat. _Yes, he was, but not anymore now._ Clearing her throat to swallow back the tears, she whispered softly, " Yes, he was my squadron leader and..." _My lover, too,_ she bit back her next words.

"Then where is he? Didn't he come with the squadron as the leader? "he paused when he saw Irene's grim expression. "Wait.. what happened to him.."

"He was.. shot down… in the battle...Mission City.." Irene's vision became blurry with her tears. She wanted to leave; however, a small part of her brain urged her to stay with Agent Prime, the man looked remarkably like her beloved Josh.

"Captain Madison?" a firm warm hand placed on her shoulder. She looked up and met a pair of bright blue orbs filled with sadness and.. guilt? "I am so sorry.. I never intend to bring out the death of your leader.."

She quickly wiped her tears away, her face blushing with embarrassment. "No, I'm fine.. really. Gosh, I am the one supposed to apologize for my whining.."

"No, I understand," he interrupted with a hint of sorrow. "I know how dreadful to lose a fellow soldier.. I lost my second-in-command in the same battle as well."

"Oh.. I am sorry for your loss…" Irene trailed off, feeling guilty of bringing up the unpleasant memories for both of them. _What have I done? Now he is upset because I brought it up!_

They stared at each other for a moment until Irene broke her gaze and turned away from Prime. "Thanks for your company, sir, but I have to leave now.." but he stopped her by grabbing her waist.

"Wait, Captain, could you stay a little longer? I am not sure if this can console you a bit...but this spectacular sunrise view always.. makes me forget all the burdens and worries, even just for a while." Bewildered, Irene allowed him to lead her to the side of the roof facing the ocean. Then she gasped at the scene before her.

In the distance, the sun started rising from the horizon, filling the sky and ocean with a soft glowing hue of gold, orange, pink and light blue. The ocean was glistening like thousands of sparkling diamonds scattered on its surface. Everything around the base was radiating in a gleaming amber color and a warm breeze of morning air gently caressed Irene's cold skin and blew loose strands of her hair. She was mesmerized by this silent beauty, and just as Prime told her, she forgot everything in her mind - the revenge, grief, worries, and pain were gone at that moment.

"This is.. amazing, Mr. Prime." she whispered, still lost in the awe of the breathtaking view of sunrise.

"Opti..no, Peter." she turned around and stared at him questioningly. He replied with a grin as bright as the radiating sun. "Just call me Peter.. when there's only two of us."

For the first time after Josh's death, a warm smile without sadness or bitterness flickered on Irene's face. "I would prefer Irene to Captain Madison then.. Peter."


End file.
